Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cloth of Envy
by Some Character
Summary: When you're in a bind with nobody to help you, who else to rely on but a puppet and a floating mask? Shuppet and Duskull have dungeons to explore, enemies to defeat and stories to listen to. Will you listen to theirs?
1. Flash of Shadow

When Pokemon are bored, they can attempt to do a variety of things. They can, for instance, attempt petty crimes and then hide themselves away, waiting for their chance to do it again. Also among the possibilities is to explore uncharted caves, woods and the occasional ominous tower. These landmarks are known as Mystery Dungeons and have a habit of gobbling up unassuming Pokemon and letting them become lost in the ever-changing rooms that make up the dungeons. Another common pastime for Pokemon is to group together and form a band of explorers that either rescue the lost or punish the wicked. These Exploration Teams seek adventure, glory and fortune. Many teams are themselves gathered under the leadership of one or a few individuals, to form an organization known as a guild. Other teams however are not interested in sharing the loot. They venture into the Mystery Dungeons, knowing that great rewards could be just a single staircase away. But sometimes adventure, glory and fortune will have to make room for relaxation.

Deep in the Concealed Ruins, a cave that's not at all hard to get into, lies a single seed. It's the dream of every seed to be eaten for a good purpose, and as such this seed would have felt a great surge of excitement if it could've sensed the shadow approaching it to pick it up.

"A Blast Seed. Bummer, could've actually been a useful find."

"Well well Shuppet, are you saying this mission will require one more Reviver Seed?"

The Shuppet who had picked up the Blast Seed threw it against a wall and turned around with an insulted look on his face.

"Yeah right! We can take this one with ease, Duskull. I wanted a Pure Seed to get there faster."

Duskull kept floating in one place, the one eye behind his face playfully jumping from one hole to the other.

"Even an easy target could surprise you. And I'm not sure if our one Reviver Seed will carry us through a nasty surprise."

Duskull turned around and headed for the corridor. Shuppet sighed and followed.

"You're too high on the Reviver Seeds." Shuppet said. 'We never use them, so they just take up space in our bags. Space in which we could fit another TM."

"My so called "being high" on Reviver Seeds can't even begin to match your TM craze." Duskull replied. "And TMs are usually the things we end up just stashing in the safe."

"I keep telling you, someday we'll be happy that we stashed all the TMs. It would be a nice little surprise of our own, wouldn't you say?"

Duskull and Shuppet exited the corridor to find the stairs just a short distance away. Shuppet sighed in exhausted relief.

"Finally. We had to scour the entire floor for this one. Stairs that take ages to find are just the worst."

"We're almost there, Shuppet. Once we go down there it will be one floor away."

Shuppet slowly floated towards the staircase.

"What's the point of being a crook if you're just going to go deep into a dungeon and then just do nothing?"

Duskull looked at his job list for a few seconds, then put it away and headed for the staircase.

"They just do that to make it easy for us to find them. Now let's go."

As Shuppet and Duskull went down the stairs, the Blast Seed lied back in the previous room without a single Pokemon to pick it up. It would have felt shunned and sad. But seeds can't feel. Only dream.

On the next floor Shuppet and Duskull looked around the room, only to find the stairs right behind them, as well as an orb lying in the corner. As Duskull went and picked it up, Shuppet looked visibly happy.

"These are the times where I'm thankful for the random nature of these places. Can you imagine what it would be like if all floors were like the last one?"

"You would talk even more, I imagine." Duskull said as he handed the orb to Shuppet. "So believe me when I say we should both be thankful."

Shuppet pouted and took a look at the orb that was just handed to him.

"Welp, a Luminous Orb is usually handy. Not so much when we're right at our destination. This one's going in the bag."

Shuppet pulled the Treasure Bag from under his cloth, put the Luminous Orb in it and then concealed the bag under his cloth again.

"Do you ever wonder what having arms would be like? I can carry the bag just fine, but having ready access to it would be a little bit more convenient."

Duskull looked at his partner.

"You can gain arms by evolving. If you crave arms so much, you should stop hesitating to evolve."

Shuppet shrugged.

"I can learn moves faster as a Shuppet. I think a little extra power is more important than satisfying my curiosity surrounding arms. Besides, having opponents underestimate you is a nice little advantage."

Duskull sighed and turned around to look at the staircase.

"Don't you hoard TMs specifically so you don't have to worry about gaining moves by level?"

Shuppet shook his head and floated towards the stairs.

"Well, if I gain moves by level I can recall them for free at the Link Shop. Then we can just sell the TMs or give them to you. Either way, we benefit from it. But enough talk, I want to complete this mission and get out. I'm getting hungry."

"Then don't ignore the Apples we find. It's one thing to starve yourself for no reason, it's another thing to complain about your own poor decisions." Duskull said.

"We're here now, aren't we?' Shuppet said. 'When we get to fighting our target I won't even feel it."

Duskull sighed and headed down the stairs together with Shuppet.

16 floors under the entrance to the Concealed Ruins, Shuppet and Duskull descended down the stairs to find another Pokemon's back. Shuppet looked at Duskull, who nodded and floated towards the back.

"I presume you've been waiting for us, Bastiodon?" Duskull asked.

The back turned to reveal the face of a Bastiodon, angry and slightly disgruntled.

"Who're you guys?" Bastiodon grunted.

Shuppet grinned and floated through the room. He stopped in a straight line with the Bastiodon, scanned him thoroughly and then looked at Duskull.

"He's our guy. I can sense it on him."

Duskull nodded and pulled out the job list.

"Bastiodon, a B-rank thief who stole a Clear Gummi from a hapless Sneasel. We've taken it upon us to take you out and then take you in. Resistance would be foolish, but knowing your type it's the one thing on your mind right now."

Shuppet closed his mouth but kept smiling. He looked at the Bastiodon while shaking his head.

"A Clear Gummi? Why would you steal a Gummi that you can't even use to its full potential? Sounds like a waste of perfectly good food to me." Shuppet briefly glanced at Duskull before returning his attention to Bastiodon. "Although from what I can tell, any little bit of IQ is highly welcome in your case."

Bastiodon lowered his head, looking ready to charge.

"I hate little punks like you the most. I can tell just by looking at you; all talk, no strength to back it up. You guys have bigger worries than how I use my Gummi."

Shuppet shook his head again, annoyed at this development.

"They never even think of just surrendering. Always fighting."

He then looked at Duskull, who nodded and began focusing.

A little purple orb appeared in front of Duskull's face, which expanded to a larger orb with a black core. Then Bastiodon moved to charge at Shuppet, and his head began shining a bright silver light.

"Take this, worm! **Iron Head**!"

Shuppet smiled and flew out of the way.

"Someone with your puny speed will never lay a finger on me." Shuppet taunted. "Hit him, Duskull!"

The orb had grown to almost the size of Duskull himself, who looked ready to launch it.

"Now you'll feel pain. **Shadow Ball**!"

Duskull threw the Shadow Ball at Bastiodon, hitting him in the side. There was a green flash and a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared Bastiodon was still standing, laughing at Duskull.

"Feel pain? I hardly felt anything! Why did you even try taking me on when you have nothing to hurt a Steel type like me?"

Duskull shook his head and Shuppet laughed.

"Did you just not see the green flash?" Shuppet said. "Man, you must be half-blind. Not even the sand is an excuse, as both Rock and Steel Pokemon are unaffected by it."

Bastiodon lowered his head again.

"Who cares about a green flash? When an attack can't hurt me, it's a failure. And so are you guys."

Shuppet grinned.

"Know your attacks, buddy. Shadow Ball doesn't just deal damage, it can also lower your Special Defense. Your defenses are usually good, but when you think you can just ignore something like that I'd say that you still have some work to do."

Several lights started surrounding Shuppet. The lights expanded into a chain of little orbs.

"Not that we'll let you do any work, of course."

Bastiodon charged at Shuppet again for another Iron Head. Shuppet launched the orbs at him in response.

"**Hidden Power**!"

When the attack hit Bastiodon there was another flash followed by another cloud of dust. Bastiodon stopped charging and fell over. He dropped a little white Gummi, which was picked up by Duskull. Duskull took a badge from under his hood and turned it towards Bastiodon. A bright pillar of light light engulfed Bastiodon and took him through the ceiling for the room. Duskull then approached Shuppet.

"That's the end of that mission, Shuppet. Are you content?"

Shuppet stretched and looked at Duskull, relaxed.

"Of course. Little feels better than finally turning someone in and returning home."

Duskull nodded.

"Good. There's little for you to complain about at the end of a mission."

"Whatever" Shuppet replied. He came closer to Duskull, who turned the badge on both Pokemon. Both were engulfed by the same bright pillars of light that took away Bastiodon, and they were pulled through the ceiling. When the pulling stopped Shuppet opened his eyes, seeing Duskull and himself standing in front of the entrance of the Concealed Ruins. Seeing the entrance for a second time today gave Shuppet a better feeling then anything that happened on this day. A feeling of a job well done. He then turned to Duskull, with a smile on his face.

"Hey Duskull."

"What is it?" Duskull asked.

"Things wouldn't have gone so smoothly without my TM for Hidden Power, would they?"

Duskull sighed, tired of the old TM argument.

"It was merely a lucky coincidence that today's target happened to be weak to Fighting. For all you knew our criminal could've been a Venomoth, making it a waste of TMs."

"You're just jealous. Don't be ashamed, I would be too if my Hidden Power were something completely trivial like Dark type."

"You and I both know that the Dark type is anything but trivial."

Shuppet floated up and down, entertained by the discussion. Arguments are made when the job is done, and make him feel a nice sense of closure.

"Dark types are good, I'll give them that. It's just that your own type covers anything that your Hidden Power could be effective against. It shows that you're destined for mundane attacks."

"Hush, you." Duskull glared at Shuppet.

Shuppet grinned. Then he sensed a Pokemon holding a badge coming in from the distance behind him. Not an Exploration Badge, which is sent to every Exploration Team, but a badge belonging to the local law enforcement. When he turned to look he saw that they were being approached by Deputy Growlithe, carrying a large sum of money and a Sitrus Berry.

"Good afternoon, Growlithe." Duskull said.

"Good afternoon, guys." Growlithe replied. He dropped the money and berry next to Duskull's shadow.

"Good work in there. We have our hands full with the recent surge of Magnemite in the Amp Plains. We appreciate that at least some teams are willing to do the smaller tasks."

Duskull looked serious.

"Are the Magnemite such a problem?"

"Why, yes." Growlithe said. "There are quite a lot of them and they are unusually organized. And when we finally get them down they just merge into Magneton. I'm telling you, they just never seem to stop. Shame too. I can just tell that having such forces on our side would give us a major advantage. Would help keeping all the crooks down as well."

Growlithe turned around and looked ready to walk away. Then he turned his head to Shuppet and Duskull.

"I'm going to join my team again shortly. Our Fire attacks make us big players in the battle against the Magnemite. You're going to have to return that Gummi yourself."

"Understood." Duskull nodded. "Good luck in your battles."

Growlithe nodded himself.

"Thanks, Team… uhh…"

Shuppet sighed and approached Growlithe.

"Team Phaselings. We'd appreciate it if you wouldn't forget the name the team that did you such a great favour."

"Very well."

Growlithe turned his head and walked away. Shuppet noticed Duskull glaring at him.

"What?" he asked. "Forgetting our name is rude."

Duskull shook his head.

"Rude or not, it's important to stay on the good side of Pokemon. Especially those that are in charge of our rewards."

Shuppet shrugged and went down to pick up the money and the Sitrus Berry.

"5,000 Poké isn't bad. We could buy some more TMs with that money."

Duskull floated away.

"I'm not getting through at all, am I? Come on, we still need to return that Gummi."

Shuppet put the Sitrus Berry in the bag and floated after Duskull.

"Coming, coming. Lighten up a little. For my sake, okay?"

When Duskull and Shuppet arrived at the Job Boards in Slowking's Guild, they found a single Sneasel that looked as if he had been waiting for some time. He looked relieved when he noticed the pair and walked up them.

"I heard the good news from Deputy Growlithe. Thanks, Team Phaselings!" Sneasel said.

Shuppet grabbed the stolen Clear Gummi out of the Treasure Bag and gave it to Duskull, who returned it to Sneasel.

"There you go."

Sneasel nodded, then looked as if he was mulling something over.

"You seem conflicted." Duskull said. "Is there something we forgot?"

Sneasel shook his head.

"No, you guys didn't forget anything. It's just… well…"

"What is it?" Shuppet said with a slight hint of impatience in his voice.

"I was just wondering if I could join Team Phaselings." Sneasel decided. "If something ever gets stolen from me again I want to be able to get it back myself."

Duskull briefly looked at Shuppet, as if they were discussing something without the use of words, then looked at Sneasel again with something resembling a faint smile.

"My friend, Team Phaselings cannot possibly accept such generosity. You expect us to request your service after robbing you of your money and inventory as well? I'm going to have to be frank, you're far too kind for this team. Such a well-meaning Pokemon should be head of his own team, in due time of course."

Sneasel looked a bit flustered before nodding, showing that he accepted being declined. Duskull turned for the exit.

"Now then, shall we head off for the day?" he asked.

Shuppet sighed and headed for the exit along with Duskull. After they exited the guild Shuppet stretched.

"At least I can always count on you to blow off the potential recruits." he said.

"Of course." Duskull answered. "If not we'd be overrun with herdless sheep. I have no intention of playing shepherd."

"Man, I bet we're the only Team that made it to Ultra Rank with just one pair of unevolved Pokemon."

"Are you complaining over your unevolved status, Shuppet?"

"I already explained that to you not so long ago. And you know about the agreement we made. We'll both reach our final stage together."

"I'm glad that we both still remember. Now let's head home. I'm exhausted."

"Exhausted? C'mon, that mission was basically a freebie. I'm still feeling a bit lazy to be honest."

"Apparently being you is much less exhaustive than following you around." Duskull said.

Shuppet had a grin on his face for the entire duration of the trip home.

Next to the entrance to the Beach Cave was a door. It was a very ordinary wooden door, with only a tiny sign on it that said "Phaselings' Door". This door functioned as the entrance to the team's home. It also served the basic function of a locked door whenever the team was out for missions. Duskull grabbed a key from behind its mask and opened the door.

Phaselings' Home wasn't more than one room, which had always been enough to make a comfortable living. There was a single bed, a table and a few stools. There was also a Kangaskhan statue for item storage, a basket for used items and a chest in which the money went. Being essentially a cave, there was no natural light in this place. The two got around that problem by teaching Flash to Duskull.

Duskull descended on the bed and Shuppet descended on a stool. There were a few seconds of silence.

"Any lingering thoughts about today's mission?" Duskull asked.

Shuppet shook his head. "None. Go down there in that dungeon and take out today's bad guy. Nothing to keep in mind."

"Then you probably wouldn't mind if I went to sleep now. It's become rather late, don't you think so?"

"Yeah." Shuppet said. "Good night Duskull."

"Good night Shuppet."

That night, Shuppet stayed up. He always stayed up. Having never slept once, Shuppet found the night to be the most boring period of the day. Duskull had forbidden him to go on missions without supervision from a capable partner, and Treasure Town was always almost completely empty at night, with the occasional Vigoroth and Delibird still hanging around. Shuppet could only think at these times.

Team Phaselings had at times thought about joining Slowking's Guild, the biggest Guild in the civilized community. Having readier access to the Job Boards would help with choosing suitable missions. Members of the Guild are usually the first to fill their job lists, leaving independent teams like Team Phaselings with the leftover missions. As a result, the team rarely gets a mission with a high risk and a high reward, slowing their growth both as a team and as combatants. But after some consideration the pair decided against it. Those who join a guild are stuck as apprentices, who are the ones to do the tasks that are far below even the leftover missions. Guilds also take 90 % of the money the teams earn on their missions. For Team Phaselings the weights on the scale are quite uneven.

Shuppet turned around and barely saw Duskull sleeping on the bed, his white mask the only visible thing about him. He felt almost unnoticeable feelings of gratitude. The two were both Team Phaselings, but Shuppet would say that Duskull was more part of it than himself. Duskull took care of the tasks that made a team a team. He picked the missions, managed the items (even if Shuppet usually carries the bag) and handles the Pokemon who'd want to make conversation with the team. Fighting was Shuppet's forte. They wouldn't have come far without his capabilities for combat. But Duskull takes the rest of the responsibilities. Even lasting through Shuppet's boredom.

Suddenly Shuppet could sense that a Pokemon had entered their home. He didn't know who the Pokemon was, only that it was holding a Sleep Seed. The Sleep Seed was moving at a slow pace, so Shuppet carefully grabbed the bag and approached the door to the hallway connecting their room to the entrance of the Beach Cave. After the Sleep Seed had stopped moving Shuppet opened the door.

"Wrong place for you to break into, buddy." he told the thick darkness.

Not a moment after saying that could Shuppet no longer sense the Sleep Seed. Then he felt something hard hitting his head and releasing a heavy gas. Shuppet wasn't fazed.

"Honestly, I'm loving your magic show, but you're going to have to leave right now. We have plenty of space in which we could fit your unmoving body."

Shuppet reached for the bag and pulled out the Luminous Orb he found earlier that day. He held it up to his face with his cloth. Then a light shone from the Orb and the hallway was lighted up.

Shuppet looked around the hallway. Not a Pokemon in sight. He looked behind him into their room. Nothing there either. He couldn't sense any items around the area, so he held up the Orb to his face again. The Orb began absorbing the light it had just brought into the hallway, making it completely dark again. Shuppet could then feel the Orb break. He went into the room, put the pieces of the Orb into the basket for used items and lay down to think again.

He wasn't able to identify the Pokemon, yet judging from how it disappeared right after throwing the Sleep Seed it was either a fast Pokemon or a Ghost. And a Ghost Pokemon would have preferred to go through the walls instead of the front door. The Pokemon threw the Seed immediately after Shuppet announced his presence, so Shuppet suspected that it was a Pokemon with ill intentions. Most Pokemon know better than to invade their house at night, with the ever-awake Shuppet there as a scary watchdog. This Pokemon was probably aware of that, as it chose to flee instead of engage Shuppet in battle. Maybe it was because he lost the advantage of the darkness. The improbability of it being a Ghost Pokemon meant that it was more than likely a Dark Pokemon in that case, and a fast one too. Dark Pokemon would also have a type advantage of a pair of Ghost Pokemon. The only Dark Pokemon that Shuppet could think of with enough speed to exit the hallway right before being spotted were Sneasel and Weavile, its evolution. While Shuppet had no way of knowing for sure, it was rather likely that it was either of those two.

A few hours later Shuppet could hear Duskull groan.

"Morning." Shuppet said.

"Good morning." Duskull said in turn. "Did anything happen while I was asleep?"

"Actually, something did." Less than three seconds after that was said the room was brightened by Duskull's Flash and Shuppet could see Duskull's face, more awake than usual.

"What exactly transpired?" Duskull asked.

"Nothing really big. Some punk just tried to assault us armed with nothing but a Sleep Seed. Bolted right out when that didn't work."

"Interesting." Shuppet could see Duskull thinking. "Did you get to see who it was?"

"It was gone before I could make anything out. Scared of the light probably. A fast runner though, I'll give it that."

"Any theories?"

"Yes actually." It was merely speculation, but Shuppet felt that it was worth sharing. "It attacked us in the dark, yet it used the front door. That means that it's most likely to be a Dark type, right?"

"That seems reasonable" Duskull said. "And if it could run out before you could notice its appearance I would say that it was a fast one."

Shuppet nodded. "That's what I thought. The only Dark Pokemon that I could see doing that are Sneasel and Weavile."

"But we don't know any Sneasel or Weavile." Duskull said. "So it could've been a hired assault."

"We do know one Sneasel actually. Just one."

Duskull spent several seconds thinking about what Shuppet had just said, then shook his head.

"Yesterday's client? I believe you had too much time to think about it. I just don't see it happen."

"It's our most probably lead." Shuppet said. "I thought that he was a little weird. Maybe even the kind of type who would try to sneak up on the team that rejected him."

"You suspect a lot of Pokemon. That one just made the error of being a bit shy around you."

Duskull stood up and stretched a bit. Shuppet saw that he didn't take his theory seriously.

"Let's just agree that for now we don't have enough leads. We will figure this out." Duskull said. "Now let us go and pick today's mission."

Shuppet opened the door. "I hear you. Later."


	2. Steel Slithers

Duskull could see where Shuppet was coming from. Not every criminal you hunt after was like Bastiodon. Some figures seemed like they would have been helpful members of the community if they weren't wanted Pokemon. Shuppet knew better than to trust Pokemon based merely on looks. But this time Duskull was of the opinion that Shuppet wasn't quite on the mark. When you have to hire a team to arrest a criminal you could not defeat yourself, it wouldn't make much sense to go after the team that actually did beat him. Duskull didn't completely dismiss the theory, but he wouldn't attack Sneasel on first sight either.

After Duskull and Shuppet went down the stairs into Slowking's Guild, Duskull turned around.

"What kind of mission shall we undertake today? Rescue or arrest?"

"Arrest!", Shuppet said without giving it much thought. "I need something thrilling."

"You know that I can't promise anything, right?"

"I know. I just trust you to make the right decision."

Duskull looked at the outlaw board. As expected, there were three missions left. One was to arrest a rogue Burmy in Mt. Bristle. Duskull knew that Shuppet was not going to be happy if they did that. The second was to retrieve a Pecha Band from a Kadabra in the Foggy Forest. It had potential, but it would probably be over before any tension had been created. The reward wasn't stellar either. The third one was to arrest a Steelix in the Amp Plains.

"Made your decision yet?" Shuppet asked.

"I have." Duskull pointed towards Steelix's portrait. "We're going after this one."

"Another Steel type? That could be a challenge. Where are we going?"

"He headed towards the Amp Plains." Duskull answered. He then received a strange look from Shuppet.

"Don't tell me this is about the police again. What would we gain from getting on their good side?"

"It's not about the immediate gain." Duskull said. "It's about potential benefits in the future. Besides, I didn't think of just myself."

Shuppet titled his head. "What do you mean?"

"Just imagine." Duskull said. "A raging battle between the police's forces and the opposing Magnemite, battling for the high ground. A near-war on every floor. Fire and electricity everywhere. The hunt for the stairs mixed with the tension of the grand conflict. Maybe they'll even give us a reason to join in."

Duskull could see a shine appearing in Shuppet's eyes. Shuppet wouldn't miss the chance to suppress a grand rebellion.

"Alright, I'm convinced. Anything we need to take out before going in?"

"I think we have just what we need, Shuppet."

When Duskull and Shuppet arrived at the entrance of the Amp Plains, they saw Chief Arcanine, Head of Lawkeeping surrounded by two Growlithe and a Numel. Along with Slaking, Head of Guilds, and Girafarig, Head of Trade, Arcanine was part of the three Heads of Treasure Town, serving only Mayor Honchkrow. To see him in person meant that something serious was going on. Duskull and Shuppet headed for the entrance, only to be approached by Arcanine.

"I apologize, but I'm under orders to ask your business here." Arcanine said. "My men have no use for distractions."

"We are Team Phaselings, and we are here on a mission to arrest an outlaw Steelix." Duskull said. "As Ghost Pokemon we can hide in the walls to avoid getting in the way. We will leave once Steelix has been subdued."

Shuppet had a smile on his face. "Of course, we could also help with your Magnemite problem. Steelix isn't going anywhere and we're more than capable."

Arcanine gave it some thought, then looked like he had decided. "I can't be sure about whether or not you two would be of any help." He turned his head and looked at the two Growlithe. "If you two would pay attention, I'd appreciate it."

The two Growlithe looked aware. "Yes Chief!"

"These two have shown interest in joining our cause. At the moment it's unclear whether or not they will actually be of any help. So you two are going to accompany them to their destination, taking down any Magnemite you encounter. Am I clear?"

"Perfectly so, Chief." one of the Growlithe said.

Arcanine nodded. "Good. I've placed my trust in you." Arcanine turned around to face Duskull. "These Pokemon are trained to take down Steel types without much trouble. But that won't be as easy if you two get caught in the crossfire. Are you absolutely sure that you want to enter?"

"We wouldn't have shown up at all if we weren't confident in ourselves." Shuppet said. Arcanine looked at him with a tiny hint of approval.

"Very well. You can enter."

The two Growlithe went into the Amp Plains, with Team Phaselings following them. When the ensemble had disappeared into the entrance Arcanine turned around.

"So that's our guy… I see."

Team Phaselings had been in the Amp Plains before, but it had never been quite as hot. It seemed that a lot of firepower was used it the battles. The room the team were in was completely empty, with a single corridor to head out. The team went through the corridor, one Growlithe in the front and one in the back.

"Is this struggle so big that even Chief Arcanine has to come here?" Duskull asked.

"It's quite intense." the Growlithe in the back answered. "At first we thought that it would be over in no time, but the Magnemite are really persistent."

"The occasional Magneton are a pain too." the Growlithe in the front said. "They're quite powerful and have booted some good forces on their own. We've managed to clear the first few floors despite that though, so we won't encounter any now."

The group exited the corridor and entered another room, bigger than the first. The stairs were on the other side of the room, next to an Elekid. The Elekid hadn't yet noticed the group's presence, but they were going to have to fight him in order to advance.

At least, that's what Duskull thought. As soon as the front Growlithe entered the room he unleashed a Flamethrower on the unsuspecting Elekid. The Elekid fainted and Duskull realized that Arcanine didn't just accept anyone that tried to join the police force.

Steelix was located on the 13th floor. The group had made it to the 11th without much hassle. Duskull observed that the two Growlithe were rather powerful, yet attacked quickly from a distance. Duskull and Shuppet often had to watch while the Pokemon they encountered were dispatched by the police. The Growlithe didn't seem to have confidence in Team Phaselings' ability, and jumped at the opportunity to leave them out of battles. Duskull would probably have to listen to Shuppet berating him for a long time if this kept up.

On the way Duskull saw the full scale of the battle between the Magnemite and the police forces. There is a certain limit to how powerful you can get as a small part of a rebellion, but the Magnemite came in unusually large numbers and often focused on dispatching the opposing forces one by one. The Numel stood their ground best of all due to their ridiculous type advantage. However, the amount of Numel among the police's side was sparse and they moved slowly. The main force were the collection of Growlithe.

"You know" Shuppet said at one point, "wouldn't this conflict have ended much earlier if Chief Arcanine had come along? He could probably take these Pokemon down in a heartbeat."

One of the Growlithe shook his head. "Chief Arcanine made the decision to support his wounded troops. He knows that if he had joined the battle he would become the focus of the enemy's attacks, or rather that we'd all protect him from their attacks. The Chief doesn't like to see his troops act as meatshields."

Shuppet didn't look satisfied with that answer. Duskull had been a team with Shuppet for long enough to know that he wouldn't agree to that philosophy. A leader wouldn't be doing his job if he weren't there to lead personally.

When the group made it to the 12th floor they arrived in a big room with no Pokemon in it. However, there was a lot of money scattered across the room and a single TM right in front of one of the Growlithe.

The Growlithe picked up the TM, looked at it and then looked at his partner with a confident smile.

"This is a nice one. I'll keep it."

Duskull looked at Shuppet, who himself looked at Growlithe with an envious look on his face. Shuppet's primary rule was "dibs on the TMs", so Duskull couldn't imagine him being incredibly happy. Shuppet then looked at Duskull with a very serious look.

"I think you know what the look of this room means, don't you?" he said.

Duskull nodded. He did know what it meant. The Growlithe, on the other hand, looked confused.

"What does it mean?" the one on the right asked.

"It means that we should brace ourselves." Shuppet said. "And not just you two."

It began just after Shuppet had said that. A room that was completely empty just a few moments ago just became filled with a horde of Magnemite which all dropped into the room out of nowhere. Among them were one Flaaffy and a single Electabuzz.

"The police does know about monster houses, doesn't it?" Shuppet asked.

"Of course we do." The Growlithe on the left replied. "We just didn't count on such bad timing."

"The two of us will focus on the Pokemon that aren't Magnemite." Duskull stated. "We're counting on you two to keep the Magnemite away from us and dispatch them quickly."

Shuppet grinned. "After all, it would be pretty bad if a team assigned to your mission got hurt under your supervision, no?"

The Growlithe didn't look happy with that comment, but they didn't say anything. They both blew a blast of the Flamethrower attack at the Magnemite and charged into two different groups. Shuppet approached the Flaaffy and Duskull engaged the Electabuzz.

"I know that savages like yourself are not very articulate, but I really don't find that tactic very honorable." Duskull said. Electabuzz didn't say anything, instead opting for a Thunderpunch. Duskull used Flash as a counter, momentarily blinding Electabuzz so that the Thunderpunch could be avoided. Duskull took advantage of the moment to materialize a chunk of ice in front of his face. When the Electabuzz could focus its vision again Duskull shot the Ice Beam at Electabuzz's face and it fainted.

Duskull looked around. Shuppet had already taken care of the Flaaffy and was watching the Growlithe that were locked into battle with the Magnemite without interfering. One of the Growlithe was fighting but one Magnemite, but the other was fighting three of them. The first Growlithe launched a Fire Blast at the remaining Magnemite, knocking it out.

The other Growlithe used an Overheat attack to hit all Magnemite at once. After the attack was used the Magnemite did not faint. Instead they began glowing a white shine. The Growlithe braced himself for further combat as the three Magnemite combined to make a single Magneton. The Magneton attacked with Thunderbolt. Growlithe tried to counter with Flamethrower, but the earlier use of Overheat had weakened his other attacks and he was struck by the Thunderbolt. After the attack had struck Growlithe collapsed.

Duskull and Shuppet looked at each other and both nodded. They then turned their attention towards Magneton. Duskull fired a Shadow Ball while Shuppet used Hidden Power. The attacks hit Magneton all at once, but it was still standing. Then the other Growlithe jumped at Magneton, fire coming from his mouth.

"**Fire Blast**!"

Growlithe launched a point blank Fire Blast at the Magneton, incinerating it. The Magneton crashed into a wall and fell to the ground, unconscious and defeated. Growlithe, Duskull and Shuppet moved towards the wounded Growlithe.

"Are you still okay buddy?" Growlithe asked. The other Growlithe stood up, looking in pain but determined.

"Don't worry. It's nothing I can't just walk off."

"That's a relief." Duskull said. "Steelix is just one floor above this one. If you can hold it out for that long then it will all turn out fine."

The Growlithe shook his head. "No reason to worry about me. Really, I'm fine."

The group picked up all the money that was scattered all over because of the fight. Then they went in the corridor to the west. Once they went out of the corridor Duskull saw the staircase in the room. Then he heard a thud behind him. He looked and saw that the Growlithe had collapsed on the floor, knocked out cold.

The other Growlithe looked disappointed. "I supposed he tried to bite off more than he could chew. That was a pretty nasty blast he took." He looked at Duskull. "I'm taking my partner out of here. You two are going to have to take on Steelix by yourself. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Duskull said. "I hope that your partner makes a swift recovery." Shuppet didn't say anything.

"Thanks." Growlithe said. The duo was then enveloped in a bright pillar of light, similar to the one summoned by the Explorer's Badge, and were pulled through the ceiling. Duskull looked at Shuppet.

"So it all ends up like it was originally supposed to."

Shuppet nodded with a smile on his face. "You said it. You sure picked a boring mission this time, with the whole bodyguard thing. Let's just hope that your crook's worth the boredom."

"I don't think you'll be disappointed." Duskull said. Team Phaselings got ready for battle and headed for the staircase, leaving behind a single used TM.

On the 13th floor Duskull and Shuppet found themselves in a large room. There were no visible items in the room and the corridor was on the other side. But this did not matter to Duskull, since their destination was in this very room.

"Good afternoon, my friends."

Steelix was lying on the floor on the other side, not looking like he was occupied by anything before Team Phaselings had arrived. Next to him was a Magnemite, which didn't seem like it had been doing anything.

"Brought along a friend to even the score, have we?" Shuppet remarked.

The Steelix rose to almost full length, stretched a bit and looked at his fellow Steel Pokemon with a condescending look.

"Not exactly." Steelix stated. "This one here pretty much invited itself into my party. Just like the rest of these Magnemite. They all seem kind of attached to me for whatever reason." Steelix smirked. "Credit where it's due though, they make for great mobs."

"They are yours?" Duskull asked. Normally when one Pokemon is in charge of an entire horde, the leader and the followers are of the same evolutionary line. A stranger taking control of the masses wasn't something Duskull encountered often.

Steelix nodded. "They're mine. These particular Pokemon have the tendency to cling to me. They follow my guidance whenever I command them to. Maybe they were looking for a leader."

"It could just as easily have been Magnet Pull." Shuppet said. "So they feel a literal attraction to you while being powerless to stop it."

Steelix looked like he gave it some thought, then came to a conclusion. "That theory could very well be true. I never asked for their help."

"So why use the Magnemite against the police?" Duskull asked.

"I have no obligation to tell you two." Steelix said. "Let's just say that I'm unhappy with the way they do their job and leave it at that."

Steelix rose to full length, looking battle ready.

"Since it's apparent that you two are here to take me in by force, I have no choice but to resist. Prepare."

"Already have." Shuppet said with a smile. "Time for the takedown!"

"Please take this seriously, Shuppet." Duskull said sternly. "The most dangerous villains are often the polite ones."

"Did I tell you once that you have no sense for theatrics?" Shuppet groaned. "Lighten up for once."

Duskull wanted to retort, but was suddenly hit by a hard and sharp collection of rocks. Once he had recovered from the attack he looked at Steelix.

"An Exploration Team should be working in perfect unison. Didn't you know?" Steelix said.

After he'd said that Magnemite unleashed a bolt of electricity towards Duskull. Duskull charged up a pale blue ball of energy.

"**Ice Beam**!"

Duskull launched the attack at the bolt, making the two collide. The two beams were about even, the focus sometimes shifting towards Magnemite and sometimes towards Duskull. Steelix watched the clash with a certain focus.

"**Hidden Power**!"

The collection of bright orbs cast off by Shuppet struck Magnemite, crashing it into the wall behind it and knocking it out. The Ice Beam overpowered the opposing bolt and struck one of the steel boulders that make up Steelix's body, creating a large cloud of dust. Once the dust had cleared Steelix looked completely unharmed and surrounded by a green aura.

"Impressive. I seem to be at a slight disadvantage now." Steelix said.

Shuppet looked at Duskull. "Protect's going to make this battle a bit longer than it has to be, it seems."

"Loads of battle to compensate for our earlier escort. I see no reason to complain."

"**Stone Edge!**"

Duskull turned his head to see another barrage of rocks being flung at him.

"**Hidden Power!**"

Shuppet's Hidden Power intercepted the Stone Edge attack and made it crumble into dust. Steelix stood still for a few seconds before seemingly deciding. He bended over the ground.

"**Dig!**"

Steelix dived forwards into the ground, leaving a large hole where he once stood. Duskull carefully anticipated Steelix's inevitable emergence and it looked like Shuppet was doing the same. After a short while Duskull noticed that the ground had started shaking. The main source of the quake seemed to be coming from under Shuppet.

"Brace yourself, Shuppet!" Duskull shouted.

Duskull flew into Shuppet, pushing him away from the probably surfacing area. Then Steelix's head emerged from the floor to tackle Duskull at a high speed. However, Duskull simply rose above Steelix's head, completely avoiding the Dig attack. After Steelix landed had on the floor the Protect barrier wore off.

"**Protect!**"

Steelix cast the barrier on himself again. Shuppet groaned.

"Now you're just padding out the fight."

Steelix shrugged.

"I'm sorry that my style of fighting doesn't suit your taste."

Steelix's tail started glowing a metallic shine similar to Bastiodon's Iron Head. Then he flung the tail at Shuppet.

"**Iron Tail!**"

The Iron Tail hit Shuppet and crashed him into a wall. When Steelix removed his tail from the wall Shuppet wasn't there anymore. Steelix turned his attention to Duskull.

"I smacked him through that wall really hard, so I don't think he'll have an easy time finding the way back."

"Then it looks like we will have lots of time together." Duskull said.

"Indeed we will." Steelix summoned a ring of rocks around him, while Duskull charged up a purple orb. Both used their respective attacks at the same time.

"**Stone Edge!**"

"**Shadow Ball!**"

The two moves collided at high speed, causing a conflict in equal power. Neither attack could triumph, so they were both deflected and scattered across the room. After that Duskull and Steelix faced each other, both on opposite ends of the room. Neither made a move.

"I can tell, Steelix." Duskull said. "I can tell that you are far too skilled for a regular outlaw. Who are you and what made you descend into a life of being hounded by the police and Exploration teams?"

Steelix shook his head with a grin on his face. "I've told you. I would rather keep such information to myself. There's no reason for me to tell you and there's no reason for you to know. All you're here for is to haul me in, turn me over and claim your reward. Don't pretend that you're some kind of miracle worker, able to convert wanted Pokemon on the spot. Your speeches are a mere waste of time."

Steelix spent a few seconds dwelling on that statement, then gave Duskull a grim look.

"You don't mean to tell me that…"

Duskull nodded silently.

"Exactly." a figure behind Steelix said. After Steelix heard this he was engulved in flames. Painful cries could be heard from the big, long mass of fire. Then the fire disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared and Steelix was visible again. Steelix looked behind him and saw a grin on Shuppet's face.

"Surprise burn!"

Steelix tried to attack Shuppet, but he found himself unable to move. He looked at Duskull and saw him transmitting a purple wave from his eye.

"**Mean Look**!"

After Steelix was completely immobilized Duskull pulled a long, sharp needle from out of nowhere in particular. He then stabbed himself with the needle.

"**Curse!**"

Steelix stood there. Frozen, hurtful and completely defeated. Unable to attack, move or even speak, he continued to take damage from the burn put on him by Shuppet and the curse put on him by Duskull. Shuppet looked up to Steelix's giant steel face.

"Didn't you know? Team Phaselings always works in perfect unison."

Steelix's face showed a hint of amusement before collapsing from the damage that had been dealt. He hit the floor with a loud rumble. After it had become quiet Shuppet approached Duskull.

"Much better. I'm glad that the Growlithe weren't here to ruin it for us." Shuppet said. He didn't get an answer from Duskull, who instead gave a grim look.

"What's the matter?" Shuppet asked. He looked puzzled.

"Before heading up here you didn't know Will-O-Wisp." Duskull answered. Duskull is in charge of keeping track of their development, so he could not be mistaken. "We weren't carrying the TM for Will-O-Wisp and we didn't pick it up along the way. Deputy Growlithe, on the other hand, did pick up a TM with which he was satisfied."

Shuppet looked both amused and annoyed by Duskull's words.

"Alright. You found me out. I used Thief to snag a nice TM while knocking out Growlithe at the same time, ensuring that we'd engage Steelix without their meddling. I found it to be a pretty good plan myself."

Duskull sighed. No matter how he tried, Shuppet wouldn't allow himself to be set on a grid, to be moved along by the police.

"If they find out it could have big negative consequences on our relationship with the police." Duskull said. "I am trying to establish a good reputation for Team Phaselings and I have no need for you to waste all my effort."

Shuppet just had a smile on his face. "Maybe it's just me, but I think that turning over the source of the fierce resistance that the police faced will have a much bigger impact than the mystery case of the vanished TM."

Duskull didn't answer. He knew as well that ending a great problem for the forces far outweighed the sudden collapse of one of Chief Arcanine's troops. He pulled out the Explorer's Badge and pointed it upwards. Duskull, Shuppet and Steelix were all engulved in the pillar of light and pulled through the floor. In a few seconds Team Phaselings were standing in front of the entrance to the Amp Plains and Steelix was nowhere to be seen. They were then approached by the one remaining police representative, Deputy Numel.

"The Magnemite forces were all hauled in not so long ago, so the others have gone back to the station." Numel said.

Numel moved to reveal a pouch containing 8,000 Poké.

"Here's the reward for your good work."

Duskull picked up the pouch and put it into Shuppet's bag. He then turned his attention to Numel.

"Are you going to interrogate Steelix?"

"We generally do that to captured outlaws, yes." Numel said. "It often reveals some useful information."

"Then do you think you could inform me of Steelix's motives when you find out?" Duskull asked.

"That I can't promise." Numel answered. "Classified information and stuff. I'll see what I can do though."

"Thank you." Duskull said before turning to Shuppet. "We'll head home for the day."

"Feeling tired?" Shuppet asked.

"Not tired, I just need to think." Duskull said.

On their way home it was quiet. Shuppet didn't say anything and Duskull did not have anything to say. Silently they arrived at Phaselings' Door, which was opened silently. But when they entered the main room, Shuppet turned to Duskull.

"Why do you care so much about this particular outlaw?" Shuppet asked. "Usually you don't keep them in your mind after the mission. And I didn't see anything really peculiar about him."

Duskull didn't know it himself. Not exactly.

This Steelix was able to draw in a large amount of Magnemite to himself without the direct intention to do so. Not only that, but he was able to steer those Magnemite into a rebellion that took a huge chunk of the police to even counter. Duskull couldn't help but feel that such a Pokemon would have to have an interesting background. That fact that he was unwilling to reveal that background only added to Duskull's curiosity. Yet he didn't know what it could mean, or more precisely what it could mean for him.

Duskull concluded that he would just have to wait for a report of Steelix's interrogation. Duskull floated towards the bed, and descended slowly and softly.

"Good night, Shuppet." Duskull said. The lights went out and it became pitch black. Just the way Duskull liked it. Shuppet sighed.

"Not telling me, I see. Well, not that I care. Good night, Duskull."


	3. Governmentals

Just beyond Treasure Town, where ordinary Pokemon usually do not go looking for services, lied the government's estate. Or at least the entrance. What was actually visible was an old wooden door. Only Pokemon with a special badge belonging to those who work with the government get to open and enter the estate. If they were to go inside they would find big stairs and a collection of doors, one of which was on top of the stairs. Behind that door was Mayor Honchkrow's office. Most Pokemon didn't ever get to see the inside of the office. And discretion among peers usually prevented them from finding out through others. Behind one of the doors on the base floor was Chief Arcanine's office. More Pokemon have seen the inside of that room, but if one were to look now they would not find Chief Arcanine himself in it.

"Is everything going well over here, Slaking?"

Slaking rolled over and saw Arcanine looking at him. He wasn't surprised. Arcanine had a way of entering silently, and Slaking had yet to figure out how.

"It's going well enough." Slaking said. "Haven't had a ruckus in a few days, which is always nice."

Arcanine sighed, looking slightly disappointed.

"One should find enjoyment through work, not through lack thereof." He said.

Slaking shook his head. Arcanine had never approved of his work methods, but Slaking didn't exactly care.

"I don't need advice like that from you. I heard about what happened at the Amp Plains a while back. It sounded like you couldn't be bothered either."

Arcanine looked unfazed.

"I have enough faith in my men to leave certain jobs for them to handle."

Slaking smiled. Despite the police force being be far the largest collection of Pokemon in the world, they had yet to solve every problem in it.

"And yet the entire case was mopped up by a random team instead of your men backed up with your faith." He said. "Having someone do your only job for you has to sting."

Arcanine turned to the open door.

"Clearly it was a mistake to ask you about your business. Excuse me." He said. Arcanine then left. Slaking grinned.

"Excuse me too, Chief."

Slaking rolled on his back. His office consisted of little more than a desk and a bed. Contrary to what some Pokemon think, the bed is more functional to Slaking's job than it is at first sight. Most of the requests for Rescue missions are processed at the desk, as well as requests and questions that are asked by the various Guilds in Treasure Town. No one wants to plow through a pile of letters without rest, Slaking least of all.

Slaking could barely hear a Pokemon approaching his still open door, and he turned his head to see Pelipper fly in. Mail is always delivered by Pelipper. This one landed next to Slaking, reached into his bag with his beak and pulled out a single envelope, which he dropped on Slaking's body.

"Daily delivery, sir." He said.

Slaking grabbed the envelope and looked at the front of it. It was signed by Slowking, head of the biggest Guild in Treasure Town.

"Thanks." He said. "You can talk to Persian for your payment."

Pelipper nodded. "I know." He said, and then flew off to the next room.

Slaking opened the envelope to find a long letter. He stood up, closed the door and lied down on his bed again. He grabbed the letter and began reading it.

"_Good day to you, sir Slaking._

_It has come to my attention that a ragtag bunch of adventurers have recently engaged and defeated a Pokemon commonly known as Steelix. Basic logic leads me to believe that they obviously based his whereabouts at the time and supposed dangerousness of off the contents of the Outlaw Board in my Guild's hub. I would like to have you know that I did not know of the existence of this poster, and since you are in charge of the posters that get distributed to the Guilds certainly-"_

Slaking stopped reading, put the letter on the desk and grabbed another piece of paper from the desk. He sat down behind the desk and began writing.

"_Hello to you too, sir Slowking._

_I have attempted to read your letter. As the leader of your Guild we expect you to know the workings of the processing of information. Chief Arcanine is actually in charge of the wanted posters. I do the other half._

_Please try again,_

_Slaking _

_P.S. Try taking it easy on the letters. Making me read less would give me more time to solve the problem, no?"_

Slaking put his letter into the envelope he had just received and walked to the door with both letters. After opening the door he clapped his hands. A Pidgey descended from one of the holes in the ceiling. Pidgey are used as the government's own method of delivering mail at any time. Like the Pelipper the Pidgey have their own bag for mail, but smaller. Slaking put his letter in the bag and gave Slowking's letter to Pidgey himself, who held it in his beak.

"I don't think Arcanine wants to see me again for a while. If you'd deliver this to him I'd appreciate it." Slaking said.

Pidgey nodded and flew off to Arcanine's office.

Slaking closed the door and sat on his bed. When he thought about it, a deskjob didn't suit him at all. The police forces live an active life of hunting down really bad outlaws, leaving the smaller fry to the Exploration Teams. Slaking could have been among them.

However, Slaking didn't really see himself working under Arcanine. Arcanine had always struck him as too uptight for his leader. As Head of Guilds Slaking could call himself equal to Arcanine. And the pay wasn't exactly bad either.

Then he heard knocking on the door. He groaned at the prospect of having to stand up again. Instead, he said "Come in."

The door opened and Slaking could see Girafarig, Head of Trade. She was there to ensure that her squads of Linoone and Ambipom provide the Kecleon merchants with a sufficient stock of items. In her mouth were a few posters, which she dropped on the desk. When Slaking looked at the posters he could see that they were rescue requests for several of the Kecleon merchants.

"Again?" he asked. "That's the fourth batch this week. We'll run out of money at this rate."

Girafarig looked slightly disturbed.

"Excuse me for wanting my subordinates to be safe. Am I supposed to just leave them hanging so that we can save our precious money?"

Slaking put the posters back on the desk and shook his head.

"Instead of having explorers rescue them, you should find a way to prevent them from needing to be rescued. Like training them to fend for themselves."

"Sounds like something you should do, Slaking." Girafarig said.

Slaking snorted. "No way. I shouldn't have to train your people."

"Why not? It's not like you actually do much at all."

It was not Girafarig who said that, but rather a voice behind her. Slaking looked, but he couldn't see anyone else in the doorway. Instead he saw Girafarig's tail looking at him, with wide open, featureless eyes and a grin consisting mostly of teeth.

"Surely even the constant naps get dull every now and then?" the tail said.

Slaking had never known if the tail had its own mind or if it was merely channeling Girafarig's rude thoughts. He did know that he didn't like it.

"Girafarig, if you could please keep your little dog in check then I'll consider." he said.

"Okay then." Girafarig said. Her tail turned around to look behind her again. She grabbed the door with her teeth and walked backwards, closing it. Slaking sat on his bed again.

Exploration Teams usually bought their tools and other items from the group of Kecleon, specialized merchants supplied by the Pickup Squads under Girafarig's command. They are among the main sources of income for the government.

Degrading sales would lead to Exploration Teams earning less money, thus being able to buy even less from the Kecleon squad, which would ultimately skewer the government's funds. Fewer teams would also be formed, leading to lesser income for the Guilds. Since a part of the Guilds' income goes directly to the government, this problem could turn out badly if not stopped. Perhaps he should help the cause…

Of course, someone awaiting rescue can't exactly be trained, so Slaking stood up to process the posters.

Meanwhile, Chief Arcanine was reading a letter from Ninjask, one of the police force's stealth agents.

"_Anomaly detected at observation point G. Backup will be necessary."_

Arcanine had seen this coming. Although the letter didn't specify what the anomaly was, he knew that his operatives wouldn't call for backup if it weren't necessary. This had to be quite serious. However, Arcanine was planning to interrogate Steelix today, so he turned to the mail-Pidgey and said "Tell Captain Camerupt to assist Ninjask at point G on my orders."

"Yes sir!" Pidgey said. He then flew away.

Arcanine sat down and began thinking. The previous attempts to interrogate Steelix were unsuccessful, with no exception. Even when force was used he wouldn't budge. Arcanine had to be creative if he wanted useful information…

The world of Pokemon has had moments of impending disaster. Stories were told of an ancient Pokemon named Groudon that had once threatened to destroy a faraway continent where other Pokemon resided. Its immense power had inspired awe that still lasts during the present days. But tales of how the mighty beast was stopped were unclear and inconsistent. Most of them agree that after taking out some of the strongest teams in the land, Groudon's fury was defeated by two rising bright stars, yet every single pair of Pokemon is different between the tales.

Similarly, the entire world had once felt dread when it was discovered that an asteroid was making its way at high speeds, causing all sorts of natural disasters. Doom and destruction were drawing ever closer, without showing any signs of stopping. But a single team of brave souls managed to climb the heavenly structures of the Sky Tower to ask a single request of the almighty Rayquaza, living to see the destruction of the meteor and saving the entire world.

Doom and disaster are not always immediately visible. Apocalyptic threats can sometimes be found looming from the shadows, waiting to bring sudden ruin to the population. Sometimes they were awaiting their chance in the future, to have their patience rewarded with the opportunity to lay waste to the lands.

Sometimes the creation-unraveling bane of existence was condensed in a single circular dark gate with purple edges, idly floating, doing little but intimidate those who'd stumble upon it. This one in particular wasn't in the mood for razing the landscape at the time. It was just there, in a little lit room close to the entrance of the Beach Cave.

Shuppet looked at the collection of dark energy, then looked at Duskull.

"I didn't expect this." he said. "Any idea what it is and what we should do with it?"

Duskull shook his head. "I do not have a clue. I have never witnessed something like this."

Shuppet looked at the energy mass and squinted.

"It'll be either really bad for us or really beneficial."

Shuppet reached for the Treasure Bag and grabbed a single Geo Pebble with his cloth. Then he aimed for the energy mass.

"Do you think I should put it through the test?"

Duskull gave it some thought, then turned to the Kangaskhan statue next to him. He took out a TM, which Shuppet identified as Protect. Duskull gave the TM to Shuppet and then took out another TM for Protect.

"I think we should properly protect ourselves in case your pebble makes it explode." Duskull said. He looked around the room. "Even if it does explode, our stuff can be replaced. I think getting to know the purpose of the energy is more important."

Shuppet absorbed the energy out of the TM, making it lose its colour. He then used the move he had just gained, and a green aura enveloped Shuppet. When he looked at Duskull, he saw the same aura over him. He took the Geo Pebble, aimed for the energy and threw.

The pebble vanished into the energy mass. It didn't reappear on the other side, so it hadn't pass through the energy. It had just vanished. Shuppet looked at Duskull and shrugged.

"No explosion. Instead we just lost a pebble. This narrows down the possibilities, doesn't it?"

Duskull nodded.

"We still cannot be sure though. We do not know if the pebble disintegrated, simply vanished or was transported somewhere else. Unless we know exactly what happened, we must remain careful."

Shuppet reached for the Treasure Bag again, this time grabbing a Stick.

"I think this stick will provide us with the answer." he said. He floated to the energy mass and poked it with the Stick. The part of the Stick that touched the energy disappeared from sight, not appearing on the other side. Just like the Geo Pebble.

Shuppet retracted the Stick and found the rest of it appearing again, completely intact. He gave it a look, put it back in the Treasure Bag and turned to face Duskull.

"It seems to be a transportation point of some kind." Shuppet said. He was glad to know that their den wasn't home to a colossal bomb. "Maybe I can stick my head in it to see where-"

Before Shuppet could finish the sentence, he sensed a pair of police badges entering through Phaselings' Door.

He had a foreboding feeling that told him that something bad was about to happen, so he used Protect and glared at Duskull, hoping that he would receive the message. Luckily, he did and the green aura appeared over Duskull as well. Immediately after the door to the room was opened and a Camerupt stormed in, followed by a Ninjask.

"Step away from the vortex." Camerupt ordered. "Or we'll have to forcefully detain you."

Shuppet scoffed and summoned a big smile on his face.

"Guess this thing's even more important than we thought, huh? You've sparked my curiosity."

Shuppet's shadow cast by the light floating near the ceiling grew darker and longer. At the same time, a collection of clear chunks of ice appeared in front of Duskull's mask. Before Camerupt or Ninjask could react properly the shadow rose from the ground and took on a solid form, ready to pounce, while the chunks of ice crashed into each other to form a single big ball of ice.

"**Shadow Sneak!"**

"**Ice Beam!"**

The Ice Beam hit its mark and Ninjask crashed into Phaseling's Door, fainting in the process. Camerupt took a heavy blow from the Shadow Sneak, but endured the hit and charged his heat into the volcanoes on its back.

"**Lave Plume!"**

Both volcanoes erupted and fired big flaming clouds. The clouds hit both Shuppet and Duskull, but could not get through the thick layer of protection provided by the aura enveloping both of them. After sustaining the hit Team Phaselings summoned big purple orb in front of their faces, as well as a look of dread on Camerupt's face.

"**Shadow Ball!"**

Both Shuppet and Duskull fired their respective Shadow Balls at the same time, which crashed into Camerupt and overwhelmed it. Camerupt collapsed with a loud noise. Shuppet laughed.

"We've got something good here if the police is willing to attack us without remorse. Just a while back we were the ones who hauled in that Steelix for them." Shuppet could feel the excitement building inside of him. "Whatever it is that made them change their tone so quickly, I'm going to check it out. Are you coming?"

"I have practically no choice, do I?" Duskull lamented. "We're to be hounded like common outlaws."

"Details, details." Potentially having to face the entire police force didn't really bother Shuppet at all. "We took down those guys with ease. I can only imagine Arcanine to be a real challenge. I might even be looking forward to it."

"We'll see about that once we're surrounded by 50 of their best operatives. Even now, the absence of word from these two is tipping Arcanine off. I will join you now, but only if you promise to lay low for the time being. We don't know where on the continent we'll appear."

Duskull approached the swirling energy mass. Unlike before, it had started moving a bit, as if it were becoming restless. Duskull took a deep breath… and dived through the mass.

Shuppet liked these developments. They were a nice change of pace from the usual drag of being in an Exploration Team, fighting mindless drones that don't provide any satisfaction. Beyond the landscapes between this portal and the one on the other side awaited new adventures. Refreshing ones. He'd convince Duskull of that later.

Shuppet charged at the gate. When he reached it he suddenly lost all momentum. He slowly felt himself being broken up and sent away along a net of… what exactly? His initial impression would be the lands, but something prevented him from being entirely sure. Before he could decide, he was reduced to merely his horn, which too was sent to his new adventures at high speed. When the other police forces arrived, all they found were the charred remains of Phaselings' Home.


	4. Preview of Monochromocracy

Shuppet could still feel. Despite being separated into approximately 76 little fragments which could collectively pass for one Shuppet, he could feel the momentum brushing along his particles from almost every angle. What he felt was not the friction and speed associated with going on a linear path at high speed, however. Instead he felt 48 little Shuppets twisting themselves into longer, thinner versions, while the remaining 28 pieces split and regrouped about 20 times per second. And all the while Shuppet was discomforted by the strokes of progress tickling and scratching every inch of his being.

Then it stopped. Shuppet's mind began to function as the one mind he usually had on him. His puppet-like body felt quite complete, and although the warped feeling of gateway-scrambling had only just stopped, he could no longer imagine what it had felt like. The one feeling replacing it was the feeling of 76 little Shuppets lying on the ground as one. The ground was cold and gritty, but Shuppet felt too exhausted to relief himself of it.

A fantastic new beginning. That's what Shuppet had hoped for when he charged through the gate. New dungeons to explore, new Pokemon to fight, new TMs to hoard. All with his teammate by his side. His equal. So far this idea had made no effort to come to fruition. Duskull wasn't even here.

Shuppet decided that this was but a speed bump on the way to adventure. His spirit as a dungeon spelunker suddenly flared up, pumping him up to levels of energy he had rarely felt before that. He pitied the foolish Pokemon that would dare stand in the way of exploration that he would traverse.

And yet he couldn't get up.

Shuppet spent a few more minutes continuing his face-down nap while awake. He was expecting Duskull to come find him at some point. To come and berate him again for being so reckless. It had become standard routine for whenever a plan went off the rails. That's one constant that had remained reliable through all this time.

But Duskull didn't come. Shuppet wanted to get up and look for him himself, but travelling by unknown means through unknown gates had taken its toll. He'd be an easy target for rabid Pokemon, but just like Duskull they hadn't found him. Yet. Maybe.

Come to think of it, there didn't seem to be much of anything. Shuppet didn't hear anything, didn't sense anything, didn't even smell anything. Obviously he did see the dirt right in front of him. Mocking him. But not much else.

Exploration teams are supposed to stay together. That is the one big rule you have to follow to avoid getting ambushed and beaten up by a bunch of common brutes. It's one of the few rules Shuppet abided by. Stay close to your partner. Don't abandon them and don't let them abandon you.

And presently Shuppet was violating that rule pretty hard.

He wouldn't stand for it, he decided. He mustered whatever leftover power his puppet body could still contain, and looked up.

What he saw was a world he hadn't seen before. Not only in the sense that he'd never been there, since honestly what's the point of a portal that takes you to somewhere familiar, but also in the sense that he couldn't imagine a world like this being anywhere nearby.

It was an incredibly boring and unmemorable world. Gray, dark and incredibly rocky. The sheer size and amount of the rocks was bordering on overpopulation. The opposite wasn't false either. There were some very deep cliffs to be seen, but only cliffs. The world didn't particularly feel like disclosing what was at the bottom of them.

One feature about it stuck out. Well, two of them, but Shuppet would only be aware of the other one after looking up, for which he was too distracted by the aforementioned first feature.

A pebble was floating right in front of Shuppet's face. Suspended in mid air. As it happened it was an ordinary pebble, not the Geopebble that had made the same journey as Team Phaselings, since that one was lying a few feet away from it. On the ground, like how an object would normally be treated by gravity.

Shuppet had been to very nonconventional places. Waterfall caves, lava caves, ice caves. Lots of caves. Shuppet loved caves. But he hadn't been in caves that ignored the common laws of adventuring outright. Like "any object lies on the ground, to be picked up at your leisure". One of the rules Shuppet abided by. Other Pokemon didn't much like this habit of him, but he liked himself well enough.

Floating rocks definitely counted as beyond nonconventional. They were downright fictional. Yet the fictional was staring Shuppet in the face with its sandy eyes. Mocking him. Like everything else in this world seemed to be doing. Especially the dirt.

Shuppet didn't really know that the bigger trouble was found at a higher elevation.


End file.
